Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Enrollment Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House panel introduces RS 32392 to tighten language allowing schools to deny enrollment for safety concerns
Summary
The House Education Committee advanced RS 32392, a draft that revises statutory language to let local school boards deny or refuse enrollment for students judged dangerous and to record certain juvenile adjudications in school records; sponsor and committee members emphasized due process rights and limits to serious felony-level adjudications.
Representative Sean Dyger, sponsor of RS 32392, told the House Education Committee the draft tightens the statutory language that allows school boards to identify and deny enrollment for students judged dangerous.
"What it does is it tightens up some language for school boards to be able to identify dangerous individuals that would be applying for attendance within their school," Representative Dyger said when he introduced RS 32392.
The draft reworks the statute from paragraph form into a list and replaces the phrase "who is incorrigible" with language that lets a board act "whose conduct is in the judgment of the board." The bill adds a provision (letter e) aimed at situations where a student is withdrawn by their parents "in lieu of discipline" before an expulsion is complete, allowing schools to treat that withdrawal similarly to an expulsion for purposes of later enrollment. A new provision (letter f) would allow schools to consider a conviction or adjudication under "section 25 to 5A," a provision the sponsor described as limited to the most serious felony-level offenses; Representative Dyger stressed this would not sweep in misdemeanors.
Representatives sought clarifications during committee discussion. Representative Clow asked how juvenile adjudications—records that are often sealed—would be discovered. Representative Dyger answered that the bill does not create a new public-record request mechanism; rather, it provides for disclosure that an adjudication occurred without opening juvenile court files. Representative Harris asked the sponsor to provide fuller chapter citations (he requested chapter numbers and titles) when the draft returns for further work.
The draft also retains a due-process path for students. Representative Dyger pointed committee members to the bill text on page 2 (lines 7–30), which he said preserves the ability for affected students to pursue a school-board process.
Representative Gardner moved to introduce RS 32392. The committee approved the motion by voice vote; committee minutes record the item was introduced for printing.
Why it matters: The change narrows grounds by which boards may refuse enrollment to students identified as dangerous while creating a new statutory path to account for students removed from school during disciplinary proceedings. The bill’s language about adjudications and the interplay with juvenile records was an area members asked staff to clarify further before the measure returns.
What’s next: RS 32392 was formally introduced and will be printed. Representative Dyger said he will provide requested chapter references and additional drafting clarifications when the measure returns to committee.
